Posts Tagged ‘workers’

The Libertarian Syndicalist Union (ESE Athens) sends support and solidarity greeting to the employees of the printing of AGR-Clarin newspaper in Argentina that are in multi-day struggle (occupation of the workplace), asking to revoke their colleagues layoffs.

We denounce the strikebreaking tactic of the employer, which in order to break the mobilization, he prints the Sunday edition of the newspaper in the neighboring country of Chile. The business committee of the AGR-Clarin workers sent a letter to the Chilean unions and in the union of Argentine truckers, asking for their solidarity: not to print or transfer the scabs form.

The struggle of the workers in the printing facilities of Clarin is part of the general struggle of the Argentine labor movement against the government’s austerity measures Macri, as well as against the anti-working-class choices of the bosses. The Macri government attacks on workers’ achievements and tries to remove rights and freedoms conquered through struggle. The attempt to repress and dismantle the self-managed Bauen Hotel in Buenos Aires, it’s one more example of the anti-labor aggression. Read the rest of this entry »

Τhe Bauen Hotel in Argentina is about to close down, after 14 years of operation by workers self-management. Through a law passed by the Congress of Argentina on November 30 of 2016, the property was expropriated for the benefit of the worker’s cooperative. Nevertheless, the President of Argentina Mauricio Macri decided to exercise his veto right against expropriation law.

Apart from the fact that the workers and their families will find themselves in a difficult financial situation, it is important that the Argentine state decided to hit one of the most emblematic companies recuperated by workers. Through the blow to the Bauen cooperative, the state attempts to hit all of the recuperated businesses and the horizontal-management movement that was developed in the country.

This very minute, inside and outside Argentina a pressure movement has being developed , a movement that invites members of the House of Representatives and Senate to reject the presidential veto and ratify the law expropriates the Bauen Hotel for the benefit of its employees, therefore to prevent eviction them from the hotel. The Libertarian Union of Athens (ESE) invites every workers’ collective, every base union, every trade union, labor collectives and every individual worker or employee, both women and men, to support the self-organized Bauen hotel, and to join their voice to the international pressure of the working class and social movement, so that the workers in Bauen emerge victorious. Read the rest of this entry »

For the second year running the media group MAD media will be in charge of the organization of the Greek final of the song selection for Eurovision. Its owner, Andreas Kouris, had been also the owner of Metropolis, a chain of thirteen music stores. When all those stores were closed two years ago, 180 workers were laid out. Since then the owner of MAD, of those music stores and of more companies, owe the laid off employees about 600 thousand euros and the Greek State about 1.4 million euros.

For the second year running the laid-off of Metropolis, with the support of several trade unions, base assemblies and people who have shown solidarity with their struggle, are organizing today a street protest outside the place where the Greek selection for Eurovision Song Contest will be held. The text that follows is the communiqué of the laid-off workers of Metropolis music stores, published in English on their web page.

During the last two years, we have been waging a hard, tiring and relentless struggle to take the money, wages and compensations, owed to us by big-shot entrepreneur Andreas Kouris, owner of MAD Entertainment group and former owner of the once-mighty Metropolis chain of music stores, which he took over and destroyed within three years, laying off 180 workers and closing down 13 stores. Read the rest of this entry »

The 24-hour nationwide strike of Vodafone employees held Friday, Feb. 28 2014 was a great success. The strike was called against the establishment of the “new company “/ subcontractor of Wind & Vodafone, where they plan to transfer the bulk of technical staff. During the strike a new general assembly was called at the Palini (Attica Greece) headquarters which decided to escalate protests by calling two more 24 hour strikes, for Friday March 7th and Monday, the 10th, which are the two days that management plans to transfer workers to the new company without proper notification and consent of the employees.

On Monday March 10th a new general assembly is called to assess the situation and plan the course of action. For a year now our employee unions (of Vodafone & Wind) decisively and steadily resist the transfer of technicians to the “new” subcontractor company, complaining that it is just a plan by management for the sole purpose of dividing up workers in separate companies, to weaken their unions, and thus to diminish the effects of the acquired rights fought for by the unions. Eventually their primary goal for this transformation is to abolish the Collective Bargaining Agreement in effect. Read the rest of this entry »

After an internet service provider (ISP) Hellas OnLine succeeded in transferring most of their employees to another company, two major cellular phone carriers followed their example by transferring most of their employees to a common subcontractor. 300 of Vodafone’s and Wind’s employees transferred to a contracting company which was founded a few months ago for the exact purpose, without obtaining the consent of their workers. The newly founded contractor is name Victus Networks SA and the only shareholders of this company are Vodafone and Wind, with each holding a 50% stake at their contractor.

At Hellas OnLine workers were called to sign their resignation voluntarily and be sign-up at a new contractor with a three month temporary contract and with significantly lower wages. If they denied they would just be fired.

Vodafone and Wind have “advanced” further in revealing the true face of neoliberalism. According to the employers the transfer would take place “automatically” and this is an arbitrary interpretation of a Presidential decree that gives the right to an employer to transfer employees from one organization to another. The employers, however, failed to mention the most important: of conventions that are is still enforced.